We Cannot Stand Alone
by alienoctopus
Summary: Violet Ainsley is an outspoken Gryffindor who believes that the students of Hogwarts need to put aside their differences and unite to strengthen the school. She believes the Marauder's, especially Sirius Black, to be the antithesis of her ideas. But danger looms for a Muggle-born who believes in equality. (Danger, and maybe a little bit of snogging, too.) Sirius/OC.
1. Doesn't She Remind You?

**WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME.** **I keep writing new stories and never finishing old ones.** **Don't worry, I have a lot for** **Yes, And** **that will be posted some time in the next few days** **ANYWAY, I found myself reading a lot of Marauders' Era, Sirius Black/OC stories in the last week or two, and wanted to write one.** **This is just going to be a teaser. I monitor how many hits I get on my stories rather closely, so if I think the response is good, I'll post the rest/write more for it. I'm not asking for follows or reviews or anything, I just don't want to invest too much in this story if there is no interest.** **-alienoctopus**

 **GRIMMAULD PLACE**

 **SUMMER 1995**

"It's not Kreacher's fault he believes these things!" Hermione shouted in the sitting room of Grimmauld Place.

"They way I see it—"

"—He was _told_ to believe these things. Honestly, if you're kind to him, he can change." Hermione interrupted Ron. "Right, Harry?" She turned to a sulking Harry, hoping he'll back her up.

"Sure, Hermione." He agreed with no emotion in his voice.

"Even Dobby has traits from the Malfoys taught to him." She started. "Of course, he—"

"—Ok. You're right. Just drop it Hermione." Ron said with exasperation.

But Hermione continued to argue, to the point where she was just talking about House Elf rights.

"Bloody hell, Hermione, you sure know how to talk a bloke's ear off." Ron said. But Hermione didn't pay attention, she continued.

Ron made another move on the chessboard. Sirius absently mindedly moved one of his own pieces, certain that the youngest Weasley boy was going to beat him once again at wizard's chess.

He was going crazy, that Sirius was sure of. If he didn't get outside soon, it was certain he would end up in the mental ward of St. Mungo's.

Ron and Hermione's constant arguing wasn't helping.

His spirit lifted slightly when a new voice entered the room.

"Doesn't she remind you of someone?" Remus said, leaning in the doorframe leading to the hallway.

Sirius looked at his old friend curiously, but didn't say anything.

"Well, doesn't she?" Remus asked again.

"Who?" Sirius asked, though it was clear to him and everyone in the room that he already knew the answer.

Now interested, Hermione and Ron stopped their bickering, and Harry perked up as well.

"I think you know exactly who I'm talking about, Sirius." He said.

Sirius' head filled with things he had been trying not to think of. If he would allow himself to, then he knew he would have to face a certain truth that he had been fighting since before Azkaban.

"Violet." Remus said, grinning at Hermione. "Doesn't she act almost exactly like Violet?"

Curiously, Hermione asked, "Who's Violet?"

"Violet was a very dear friend of ours. Especially of your mother's, Harry." Remus said, sitting the chair across from his former students.

"Was?" Sirius asked. He felt something rise in his throat.

" _Was_ , Sirius."

"How?"

"It's been fifteen years and nothing. Was." Remus said with certainty.

Hermione wasn't the only curious one. "She knew my mum?" Harry asked.

"They were very close, until the very end."

"Who was she?" Hermione asked, dying for more information about this person who was apparently very much like her.

"Violet Ainsley was the most outspoken and optimistic person to ever come out of Gryffindor house," Remus started.

 **HOGWARTS**

 **FALL 1976**

"Don't let Quidditch get in the way of being friendly! Don't be against inter-house relations!" A loud voice rang through the halls of Hogwarts.

"Eradicate house-based prejudice!" The same voice yelled.

"Vi, no one's listening to you." Lily Evans said to the voice.

Even in a schoolgirl's uniform, Lily exemplified the figure of a perfect woman. Slender, soft, and gentle, with brilliant red hair cropped right past her shoulders and green eyes that a person could just get lost in.

"It doesn't matter if they're listening to me, Lily. The message will still stick in the back of people's minds." The voice belonged to Violet Ainsley, who, like Lily, was a sixth year Hogwarts student. She was much shorter than Lily, with dirty blonde hair that landed at her waist. Though Violet was very pretty in her own right, she looked plain next to Lily.

"It didn't stick last year, or the year before, or the year before. It's a lost cause." Lily argued.

"It doesn't stick because of Gryffindors and Slytherins alike. If only I could get some people from each house to be friends." Violet said suggestively.

"I am NOT befriending Sev- _Snape_ again." Lily said bitterly.

"I'm sorry, Lil. I always thought you two could be the figurehead for my campaign."

Since fourth year, Violet had begun an endless campaign promoting friendships between all of the Hogwarts houses. Though the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were, if not disinterested, receptive, the Gyffindors and Slytherins were very against it, to say the least.

Violet understood that the Slytherins were going to be very hard to get through to, but she had hoped that her own house would support her ideas. It seemed, to her, that they hated each other simply because of their house names. Seeing the friendship that Lily and Severus once had, Violet thought that maybe she could bridge the gap between the two houses, thus producing a completely united Hogwarts.

"I think I thought that, too, once." Lily said sadly.

"OI! EVANS!" Someone shouted from across the corridor.

Lily cursed under her breath. "Potter." She said without emotion.

"I'm glad you waited up for me. I wanted to ask you something." James Potter said when he walked up to the two girls. Behind him were his three friends, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black.

As much as Lily hated James Potter, Violet hated him _and_ his friends. To her, they were the sole reason why no one wanted to befriend anyone outside of their own house.

Perhaps she did not hate Remus and Peter—Violet actually enjoyed the company of the two. Remus was consistently her Potions partner since first year, and Peter was surprisingly bright, having helped her with her Transfiguration homework more than once.

But she absolutely could not stand James and Sirius. Especially Sirius, who was always quick to make fun of her ideas and beliefs.

"I am not going out with you, Potter." Lily said.

"I was actually going to ask if you've got Prefect duties tonight." James said. "But I'm glad the idea of you going out with me is at least on your mind."

"I can't believe you've been made Prefect this year." Lily seethed.

"I know! I wasn't one last year—Dumbledore must be off his rocker. But all it means is that I get to walk the halls of Hogwarts with my one true love. Maybe he knows what's best!" James said excitedly.

Lily ignored this. "Come on, Vi. Let's go do something productive." She turned to her friend.

"But I _am_ doing something productive." Violet argued. She held up the flyers she had made. "MAKE A FRIEND OUTSIDE OF YOUR HOUSE TODAY!" "HELP CREATE A STRONGER HOGWARTS!"

"You're still going on about this, Ainsley?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Of course I am." She said with pride. "I wish my fellow housemates were as passionate as I am about it. You could help me, you know, Sirius. Your brother is a Slytherin." She suggested.

"Slytherin or not, I don't want to have _relations_ with my brother." Sirius said maliciously, using Violet's own terminology.

"But he's your brother."

"Nope."

"Come on, Violet." Lily urged. She could sense the anger burning off Sirius.

"I don't see what he's so sore about."

Sirius looked like her was going to curse Violet.

"Padfoot, she doesn't know." Remus said, his voice calm and low. Sirius clenched his teeth, but backed off.

"Let's go. We don't need to be seen with this madwoman spouting off nonsense." He spat. He turned on his heel and walked out of the corridor with James and Peter behind him.

"He's had some family problems over the summer." Remus, who had stayed behind, explained. "It's a good idea not to bring them up in the future."

"I didn't know." Violet said. She hadn't meant to hurt Sirius.

"How are you, Remus?" Lily asked.

"I've been better." He said. Violet took a look at him. He had dark-colored bags under his eyes, and his skin looked a sickly grey.

"Remus!" She said, shocked. "You should go to the infirmary."

"No, it's all right. Nothing a good night's sleep can't fix." He said. Violet believed him, as sleepiness seemed to drip off his voice.

"I was meaning to talk to you, anyway." He said. "You need to stop this." He said, pointing at her flyers.

"What do you mean? Just because James and Sirius—"

"—No, Violet. He's right. I've been meaning to say it since we got back from summer holiday." Lily said.

"Why?"

"You remember last year, how all those Muggle-borns were attacked in Diagon Alley?" Remus asked. Violet nodded. "The amount of people doing that had been growing. They're called Death Eaters—"

"—That's why Snape and I can't be friends anymore." Lily interrupted. "The Death Eaters are mostly, probably exclusively, Slytherins. Snape got caught up in it. It's all Dark Magic."

"If you keep spouting unity and equality between houses, and to an extent, Muggle-borns and Purebloods, you're going to be the first person they want to attack. It doesn't help that you're Muggle-born yourself." Remus warned.

"But then this is what we need. The more students I can convince, then less of them will join the Death Eaters." Violet argued.

"I admire your cause, you know I always have, but bloods run very deep in the wizarding world, Violet. You can put yourself in serious danger." Remus said. Lily nodded vigorously in agreement.

"I have to at least keep trying. No one's going to attack a Hogwarts student." Violet said.

Remus pursed his lips. "I warned you." He said.

"Thank you. But I'm going to continue doing what I'm doing. Sounds to me that it's more necessary than ever." Violet grinned.

Remus shook his head and left.

"He's right, you know." Lily said.

"I don't care. I really don't want to talk about this anymore."

-0-

"We need to watch out for Violet." Remus said when he walked into the boys' dormitory.

"Why? Is she going to attack us with unity and friendship?" Sirius laughed harshly. He waved his wand, causing little paper cranes to fly around the dormitory. Peter laughed at the spectacle.

"I tried to tell her that she should stop, you know, on account of the Death Eaters and Muggle-born assaults. But she won't listen. Someone needs to keep an eye out so she doesn't get attacked herself." Remus explained.

"Yeah, all right." James agreed, looking up from _Quidditch Through the Ages_. "She may be bonkers, but I wouldn't want anyone to hurt a Gryffindor."

"I agree," Peter said, "She's only trying to do good. She shouldn't be punished for it."

"The way I see it," Sirius' voice boomed, "She's a witch. If she wants to continue being stupid, she can defend herself. We shouldn't have to look after her because she's an idiot."


	2. Stay Safe

**1\. This story makes jumps in time so it won't be long. So instead of really getting into characters' heads and what's going on, this story is mainly highlights of the past.** **2\. A reviewer pointed out that Violet is "frighteningly naive." To this I say, yes. Thank you for noticing.** **3\. I'm not all that fond of this chapter. However, I like the overall story. So psssh.** **Thank you for reading/reviewing/following/favoriting.** **-alienoctopus**

 **HOGWARTS**

 **FEBRUARY 1977**

Lily was rifling through her trunk, tossing every article of clothing she came across on her four-poster. Violet watched, amused, from above her book.

"I can't believe you're going on a date with James Potter." She said, finally putting the book facedown next to her.

"To be honest, I can't either. I can't believe I said yes. A part of me wants to back out, I think." Lily admitted. "Oh, I should. I can just tell him I was tired, or confounded, even!"

"Lily, he's been following you around, well since first year," Violet said thoughtfully, "If it's bad, he'll stop. Besides, he can't be all that horrible. Remus Lupin likes him well enough, and let's face it—James picked you to fall in love with. He at least has that going for him."

"Oh, I suppose you're right." Lily conceded. "Help me find something to wear tomorrow. Nothing seems right." She indicated her clothes-covered bed.

"I think you could show up in a sack and he'd be happy. In fact, he might prefer it." Violet laughed.

"What are you going to do tomorrow?" Lily asked, now sorting out the clothes on the bed.

"What do you mean? I'm going to Hogsmeade." Violet said.

"Alone?"

"Probably, yes."

"I feel bed, then. I don't want to ditch you." Lily said. "I should cancel."

"No, Lil, don't cancel. No matter what, you and James going out is a good thing." Violet said. "I can always work on a new flyer and try to talk to some students about—"

"—Violet! It's Valentine's Day tomorrow, well, it's Valentine's on Monday, but tomorrow is a Hogsmeade trip. Everyone is going to be on dates. You can't go bothering people when they're on a date." Lily argued.

"Then, maybe I'll meet up with Marlene." Violet suggested.

"She's got a date, I think."

"Dorcas?"

"She's dating—"

"That's right, she's dating Amos. Hmm." Violet thought. "How about Alice?"

"She's meeting Frank."

"Merlin! Everyone's got a date tomorrow, don't they?" Violet felt a bit jealous. Though she was never preoccupied with boys, she was starting to notice that her friends were becoming so, and boys were noticing them, too. "I can always do some homework, then. A bit of extra studying. And I can bother the students here, too." Violet decided.

"Maybe you should see if Remus or Peter are doing anything?" Lily said.

"What? Like a date? No, thanks. I like them both, but no, not to date. Well, maybe Remus, but I don't think—"

"—No, Vi, I mean just to go to Hogsmeade with. Spend time with people who aren't me, or just yourself."

"Lily Evans," Violet said in faux shock, "Are you trying to be rid of me?"

"Of course not! I just hate leaving you alone."

"Don't worry about me. And you should just wear jeans and a jumper. I'm telling you, James won't even notice what you're wearing."

-0-

The next day, Violet was rather surprised when she realized why Lily was worried about leaving her to her own devices.

She saw no point in going to Hogsmeade, not if she was just going to end up having a butterbeer by herself and returning to the castle right after, and Lily had promised to bring back some Toothflossing Stringmints if her and James stopped at Honeydukes, so there was nothing for her to do in the village.

Violet had thought perhaps she'd be preoccupied with homework long enough that Lily would be back before she even finished, or at least one of the other Gryffindor girls. But it was noon and she was already finished.

"How long could they stay in the bloody Three Broomsticks?" She said to herself as she walked to the library.

She had several books in tow, and was intent on returning them and renting out new ones—anything to keep her busy until _someone, please, anyone_ came back from Hogsmeade.

She turned a corner and ran right into someone.

"I'm so sorry!" Violet apologized as soon as it happened. She stood up quickly and looked on the ground to see Severus Snape.

Violet had never thought much about Severus. He and Lily were friends at some point, so she had always figured he had to have at least one decent bone in his body for Lily to give him the time of day. That was, until last year when they had a rather massive falling out. Lily swore she would never forgive him.

Violet loyally agreed with Lily, however, her optimistic nature took over. He couldn't be that bad. Everyone makes mistakes.

"Let me help you." Violet said, offering the fallen Slytherin her hand.

He stared at her, a million thoughts flashing behind his dark eyes.

"Thanks." He muttering, finally taking her hand. Violet helped pull him up and then began to pick up her books.

"I'm really sorry about that." She apologized again.

"You should be sorry, mudblood!" He shouted. Violet looked up at him, shocked at his sudden turn in mood.

She heard laughter behind her, and turned around to see its source. Antonin Dolohov and Lucius Malfoy stood only a few feet from her.

"And here we thought you might be a secret mudlover, Snape." Lucius said.

"Never." He said.

"Prove it." Malfoy goaded. Dolohov was grinning as if he were watching his favorite program.

Snape took out his wand, but he did it very slowly. Almost hesitantly. This gave Violet enough time to take out hers, and as soon as Snape shouted, "Sectumsempra!" she had a shield up.

He sent another curse, a little faster, but still slowly enough for Violet to protect herself.

"You should curse someone big enough to actually see the grease in your hair, Snivellus." Someone said. A Stunning Spell hit Snape from behind and he crumpled to the ground.

Malfoy and Dolohov looked on in shock, until they saw who sent the curse.

"Black, good to see you! If you've come to your senses, then you should know you missed the mudblood and hit dear Severus instead, though." Dolohov greeted.

Before Sirius could do anything, Violet sent four spells at them, as fast as a rocket.

Wands flew across the hall, Malfoy was in a body-bind, and Dolohov couldn't stand on account of his newly acquired jelly legs.

"We need to go." Sirius said to her. He had a mad look in his eyes that she had never seen before.

Sirius grabbed Violet's arm and pulled her through the corridor, up staircases, until finally they were in front of the Gryffindor common room.

"Are you bloody stupid?" He shouted when they got inside.

"Are you?" Violet yelled back. "How could you do that to Snape?"

"You realize that he would kill you given the chance?" Sirius said.

"If you ever paid attention, maybe you'd notice he wasn't trying to hurt me."

"Oh, really? Must've gone over my head. All I heard was that he was trying to curse you with Dark Magic!" His voice got even louder.

"Yes, but he was doing it slowly. He was allowing me to protect myself." Violet said.

"So his Death Eater friends could attack from behind. Merlin, here I thought you were rather smart. You can't go anywhere alone, Ainsley. Sure, you've got pretty quick wandwork on you, but that means nothing when you're surrounded. Mary MacDonald—your bloody dorm mate— was attacked a month ago, and here you are, still spouting about uniting Hogwarts with sunshine and rainbows." He was still shouting. Violet looked at him wide-eyed. "You can't talk them out of this. Hogwarts is falling. It's all about protecting yourself now." He was quieter. "But you really are that daft, aren't you? You can't fix this with bloody flyers and cupcakes and words. That's over. Learn to fight. Don't go anywhere alone."

Violet stood there, taking in his words. She had not realized how bad things had gotten at Hogwarts. When she went home over the holidays, she lived in complete Muggle bliss, without the magical world distracting her. When she was at Hogwarts, if not in class, she was in populated areas, and was usually with her friends.

She hadn't given thought to going out alone.

"I'm sorry." She said slowly.

"You're a Muggle-born, Ainsley. You're probably at the top of their kill list." Sirius said, well, seriously. "Just, be careful. Don't go anywhere alone. You can ask any of us to go with you to the bloody library if you have to. Now that Prongs had landed Evans, I'm sure we'll see a lot of you."

"What's with all the shouting?" Remus asked, coming down from the boys' staircase.

"Ainsley here was attacked by Snivellus." Sirius explained.

"Violet, are you ok?" Remus asked, suddenly at her side.

"I'm fine. I can handle Snape." She said.

"But you wouldn't be able to handle Snape, Dolohov, and Malfoy at once." Sirius pointed out. "I told her to ask one of us to go with her if she needs to go anywhere."

"You could always ask a Prefect, too."

"I'll keep that in mind." Violet said.

 **HOGWARTS**

 **APRIL 1977**

"You weren't kidding when you said I'd see a lot of you." Violet said over dinner.

Lily had insisted that Violet sit with her and the Marauders for almost every meal—which meant Lily really just wanted to sit with James while Violet was with the rest of the Marauders.

"On the bright side, you're always around to look at my Arithmancy homework." Remus said between bites of roast beef.

"You have to look for a bright side of me being around you lot?" Violet asked in mock-offense.

"The way I see it, the whole thing is terrible. You're always trying to help with homework. That forces me to actually do it. Sirius Black does _not_ do homework." Sirius said.

"But you're getting better marks now, aren't you Padfoot?" Peter pointed out.

"Stuff it, Wormtail." Sirius said in defeat.

"I think I make a great addition to your friends. Besides, you down one person considering James can get his face off Lily." Violet said.

"You're better to look at that Prongs, I'll give you that." Sirius winked. "Speaking of better to look at." He said, as his head turned to watch a seventh year Hufflepuff girl walk out of the Great Hall.

"You're disgusting." Violet sneered.

"What do you mean?" Sirius grinned wolfishly.

"You're salivating over her like a dog. She's not a bone, Sirius, she's a person." Violet defended.

"I can make her a bone if I want."

Violet's face read disgust. "I can't believe you like hanging out with him." She said to Remus.

"Someone has to hold his leash." Remus joked.

"I agree, and I think she might be the one to hold it." Sirius said, getting up to follow the Hufflepuff.

"How does he do it?" Peter mused once Sirius left.

"Do what? Act like a prick?" Violet said. She looked to Lily, hoping she'd come to help her defense. But Lily and James might as well have been in a secluded room.

"He's really not bad, Vi." Remus said.

"He has no respect for other people." She huffed.

"He does, really. You just have to look for it. Not everyone is like you, with respect and kindness spilling out of every orifice." Peter said.

 **HOGWARTS EXPRESS**

 **SUMMER 1977**

"All right, so! Good year had by all, yes?" James said to his friends once they settled into a compartment on the Hogwarts Express train home.

"Well, I did turn into a werewolf more than once."

"Be thankful. You look better as a werewolf than you do now." Sirius said. The friends shared a hearty laugh.

"But, really, considering the fact that there's a war going on outside this train, it was a good school year. I'm dating Lily, you know." James said.

"You're dating Evans? When did that happen?" Peter joked.

"Oh, sod off, Wormtail." James grinned. "It's not like any girl had caught your fancy, anyway."

"There's always Violet, Pete. We know for a fact you've had at least two dreams about her." Remus said.

"She's pretty fit, who wouldn't have dreams about her?" Sirius said.

"That's a new one, Padfoot. You sporting a big one for Ainsley now?" James asked.

"No, I'm only saying that you don't have to fancy a girl to have a dream about her. Ainsley is a good-looking bird once you get past her apparent insanity." He defended.

"She's not that mad. Just rather passionate. She's preaching the exact opposite of what You-Know-Who is trying to enforce." Remus said.

"Which is mad, considering she could get killed for it." James came to Sirius' aid.

"Maybe she thinks it's something worth getting killed for."

"Maybe you're the one that fancies her." Peter said to Remus.

"I don't fancy her. I think she's admirable, and attractive, but I don't fancy her."

 **AN INDISCLOSED LOCATION IN THE MUGGLE WORLD**

 **SUMMER 1977**

 _Violet,_

 _I probably shouldn't send you this letter, but I was worried._

 _I never thought they'd do something like this. I hope you and your family are ok. The Prophet didn't go into much detail._

 _Merlin, I don't even know what to write. I just hope you're doing ok and are returning to Hogwarts. It's the safest place for us, you know?_

 _You don't have to write back if you don't want, or I don't even know if you can. I wanted to let you know I'm thinking about you and hoping you are all right._

 _I'm really sorry._

 _Love,_

 _Lily_

Violet tossed the letter aside.

She was sitting on a bed in the upstairs of an abandoned Muggle house. She had been there for two weeks.

The house was small and almost empty. Only some furnishings remained—a bed in each bedroom and a couch downstairs.

Professor Dumbledore had told her this was the safest place for her to be until school started again. She asked why she couldn't stay at Hogwarts, but he gave her no answer.

She wasn't the only person in the house, though. The people she shared it with changed, but she was never alone.

Today, the Prewett twins were there.

"So, what is the Order of the Phoenix?" She asked them that evening.

"It's an organization Dumbledore set up. We're going to defeat Voldemort." One of them, Gideon maybe, explained. "That's why we're here. It seems you and your family were a target of the Death Eaters—"

"—No kidding." Violet interrupted bitterly.

"And you still need protecting. So some of us from the Order volunteered to."

"And how do I join the Order?" She asked.

"You can once you're done at Hogwarts." Fabian said.

"I'm of age. Why can't I join now?" Violet argued.

"So you can finish Hogwarts."

"What if I don't want to finish Hogwarts? Can I join then?"

"Don't be stupid," Gideon said, "Hogwarts is the safest place right now. Finish up school and then you can come along with us and kick some Death Eater arse."

"They killed my family. I should be able to join now."

"It doesn't work like that, Violet. Trust in Dumbledore."

Another owl tapped at the window. Fabian got up and took the letter it was delivering. "It's for you." He said, handing it to her.

Violet ripped it open. Who else would writer her besides Lily? Perhaps Marlene, or Dorcas.

 _Violet,_

 _I am so very sorry to hear what happened._

 _It is good to hear that you survived, however._

 _I am hoping you could give word that you are somewhere safe._

 _I already owled Lily and she wrote to me that it probably isn't a good idea to try and contact you, and that she hasn't heard anything, either._

 _I'm not a Marauder if I'm not a risk-taker._

 _Besides, I'm sure Dumbledore has found a way to help you out._

 _If you can, please contact someone so we can stop worrying._

 _-Remus_

"Can I owl back?" Violet asked once she finished reading the letter.

"No." Fabian said curtly.

"We can, though." Gideon said.

"What do you mean?"

"Write your letter and tell us where it's going. We'll make sure it gets there." He explained.

"Thanks." She rushed back to her room and started writing.

 _R,_

 _Thank you for the owl. I'll explain things once Hogwarts starts if I can._

 _Please owl L that I'm alive and will be back in school._

 _I don't want to send out too much post._

 _I_ _ **am**_ _alive. I don't know what to believe in anymore._

 _I think we're all going to die._

 _Stay safe. Tell L to stay safe._

 _-V_


End file.
